The World

Rock Snot

A brown, fuzzy alga called didymo is invading cold trout and salmon streams. Didymo, better know as rock snot, and perplexed scientists are trying to figure out how and why it’s rapidly spreading in North America.

Algae often prefer waters that are warm, nutrient-filled and slow moving. But the algae called didymo, also known as rock snot, thrive in cold, clear rivers. The invasive rock snot is infesting trout and salmon streams up and down the east. As producer Murray Carpenter reports, scientists are trying to understand the unusual behavior of this invader.